13 - Laserfiche WebLink

Comments on Historic Preservation Policies November 10, 2013 Page 2 Then over the last seven years or so, at the urging of an organized opposition group, the City took a more aggressive architectural control position, denying or delaying a whole series of proposed property improvements in downtown. Owning and improving older buildings in downtown Pleasanton has become a liability, with owners complaining that the approval processes are long, expensive, and uncertain, with projects so burdened they are unfeasible to build. Those project by project neighborhood fights led to formation of the Historic Preservation Task Force, which was formed to clarify the rules, and streamline the process so property improvement could once again go forward in downtown Pleasanton. Unfortunately, some of the proposed historic preservation policies under consideration will do little for historic preservation, while detracting from downtown vitality by giving opponents more and sharper tools with which to obstruct property improvement. For example: 1. Widespread downzoning Current Standard: R-1 Zone: Floor Area Ratio (FAR): 40% maximum -Proposed Standard: Keeps the above, and adds: "Policy 8. Compatibility of new single-family homes or modifications to existing single- family homes with the immediate neighborhood (i.e., single-family homes on lots within 150 feet of the subject lot) relative to mass and bulk shall be assumed if the proposed FAR does not exceed the average FAR of the single-family homes in the immediate neighborhood by more than 25 percent.. . . ." (underlining added) -Unrelated to historic preservation: Floor area ratio (FAR) has nothing to do with historic preservation. -Increased uncertainty. This regulation is so complicated, no property owner will know what it's permitted FAR is. The property owner would have to know the exact lot sizes and exact home sizes for 25 to 75 homes within 150 feet of his property to even calculate his permitted floor area. -Erratic outcomes. The outcomes of this Rube Goldberg formula, once applied, are likely to be highly erratic, depending on whether one's neighbors happen to have, on average, smaller or larger homes. -Downzoning! The compatibility standard downzones the entire downtown residential neighborhood while disguising itself as a historic preservation policy. Recommendation: Delete the proposed Policy 8. 2. Mandates Pre 1942 Architecture. -Proposed Standard: